CHICAGO, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Women who live in urban areas have
denser breasts, making them more likely to develop breast cancer, according
to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological
Society of North America (RSNA).
"Women living in cities need to pay more attention to having regular
breast screening," said Nicholas M. Perry, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.R.,
director of The London Breast Institute at The Princess Grace Hospital in
London, U.K. "Currently, women who live in urban areas are known to have
lower attendance for breast screening programs than women in outlying
areas."
Breast tissue in women may be fatty or glandular or a mixture of both.
Women with more glandular breasts show denser tissue on a mammogram and are
known to have nearly four times the risk of developing breast cancer than
women with fatty breasts. Dr. Perry and colleagues set out to determine if
there was a relationship between breast density and area of residence.
The researchers analyzed digital mammograms of 972 women from urban,
suburban and rural areas. They discovered that women who lived in London
had significantly denser breasts than those living outside the city. The
risk of increased density was twice as great in the 45- to 54-year-old
group. Age-specific analyses suggested that overall differences by area
were more pronounced in women under age 50.
Dr. Perry cautioned that more research is needed to determine the
precise reason for this phenomenon, taking into account lifestyle factors,
stress, workplace and other possible contributors, but he advised that all
women maintain a recommended breast screening regimen, and that women with
dense breasts be screened with digital mammography, which is more effective
at detecting cancer in dense breast tissue.
"Regular breast screening with mammography saves lives," Dr. Perry
said. "Access to breast screening for women living in cities must be
prioritized."
Co-authors are P.C. Allgood, Ph.D., S.W. Duffy, M.D., S.E. Milner,
B.Sc., and K. Mokbel, M.D.
Another study presented on Monday (Nov. 26) at RSNA 2007 looked at the
influence of the Western lifestyle on breast composition. Miriam
Sklair-Levy, M.D., and colleagues from Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem
compared breast densities of Israeli women and Ethiopian women who
immigrated to Israel. The study found that Ethiopian-born women who have
immigrated to Israel had significantly lower breast density than did
Israeli-born women. In addition, past Ethiopian immigrants who had begun to
adopt a Western lifestyle (decreased number of children, change in diet or
increased hormone use) had significantly higher breast density than recent
immigrants.
Note: Copies of RSNA 2007 news releases and electronic images will be
available online at RSNA.org/press07 beginning Monday, Nov. 26.
RSNA is an association of more than 41,000 radiologists, radiation
oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to
excellence in patient care through education and research. The Society is
based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)
Editor'S Note: The data in these releases may differ from those in the
printed abstract and those actually presented at the meeting, as
researchers continue to update their data right up until the meeting. To
ensure you are using the most up-to-date information, please call the RSNA
Newsroom at 1-312-949-3233.
At a Glance
-- Women who live in cities have denser breast tissue than women who live
in suburban or rural areas.
-- Women with dense breasts are at an increased risk of developing breast
cancer.
-- In the study, the risk of increased density was twice as great in
women 45 to 54 years old.
SOURCE Radiological Society of North America
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CONTACT:
Maureen Morley, +1-630-590-7754,
mmorley@rsna.org, or Linda Brooks, +1-630-590-7738,
lbrooks@rsna.org, both of the Radiological Society of North
America
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